Star Wars VIII: The Legacy Continues
by karkope
Summary: I started writing this in June 2016 - it was my idea of what The Last Jedi would be like. It's obvious now that the movie will be different, but this story is still one of my favorites.
1. Hermana (I)

Hermana nibbled at her bread and stared out at the sky, knowing somewhere out there was the place her father and sister had gone after Mama had kicked them out. Hermana wasn't really sure why Mama had made Papa leave – she had been a baby at the time. All she knew was that Papa had left for some strange land and taken Hermana's big sister with him. Someday, Hermana would find her father and bring him home.

But first, she had to find her sister. She didn't know her sister's name, only that Hermana looked exactly like her, and that she had probably moved out of wherever her father had been living. It wasn't much of a lead, but a lead nonetheless. Today she was boarding a ship to a planet she had visited often. She wasn't sure if it had a name, because everyone just said "Maz's place." Everyone knew Maz Kanata, and Hermana had the privilege of being one of her close friends.

She weaved through the foot traffic to Baji Jettster's ship and boarded. It was the fastest passenger ship in the galaxy – it had made the Kessel run in _fourteen parsecs!_ – so she always took it. Besides, she liked Baji.

She waved at a camera as she boarded, knowing there was a video screen in the cockpit. After shoving a couple smuggled boxes of who-knows-what, she sat down and waited. Normally, in a situation like this, she'd make small talk with her friend Rey. Rey was a scavenger, though, and was dependent on Jakku for a living. She never left the planet. Rey hadn't been seen for weeks, anyway. Some said she had been killed by the First Order, others said she escaped to another planet. The only thing the rumors could agree on was that she had found a droid with something important that the First Order wanted. Better not to get involved with the First Order, Hermana thought. You live your life, and they'll live theirs.

Rey had been one of Hermana's only friends. Sometimes Hermana thought Rey might even be her sister. She certainly looked the part. Rey seemed too sad to be Hermana's sister, though. Mama had always said her "big girl" was happy and didn't have a care in the world. Hermana thought that might have changed when she was taken to a strange planet, but you didn't argue with Mama. No, sir.

The speaker in the corner crackled. "Departin' from Jakku. Thanks to my patented hyperdrive system, we'll be arrivin' in just a few minutes. Don' open any boxes that don' belong to ya. We have children aboard today, so refrain from swearin'," Baji said. At this, the . . . whatever it was sitting across from Hermana said something Mama wouldn't like. In return, Hermana made a rude gesture and left for the cockpit, stopping halfway there to hold onto a box as the ship lifted off. Baji wasn't the best at smooth takeoffs.

Baji, as usual, was driving, but the seat next to him was empty. Hermana dropped into it and started pressing buttons. If the copilot, Demba, wasn't in her seat, she wasn't on board.

"Thanks, Herm," Baji said. "Demba got her own ship – she's quit the job. I could use a new copilot."

Hermana smiled. "Maybe once I find my sister. And don't call me Herm."

"Ya got it, Herm. Speakin' o' which, I saw a girl a few weeks ago. Looks just like ya, few years older. Been meanin' to tell ya, but I never got around to it."

"Really? Where was she going? And what was she wearing?" Hermana asked.

"Was runnin' from the First Order with a BB droid and a dark-skinned boy her age. Flew the same way we're goin' in the old hunk o' junk that Unkar Plutt stole from . . . uh . . . whoever. That thing's been stolen so many times, I forget who stole it from who. She was wearin' typical scavenger outfit, beige, cutoff sleeves, arm wraps," Baji replied.

"Oh, you mean Rey? Rumor has it that BB droid had something important and Rey helped him escape. I hadn't heard the part about the boy. Rey and I were friends. Well, I think. I'd know if she was my sister."

Baji just agreed. Most people did. Hermana liked to talk. A lot. She often overwhelmed people with her chattering.

As they came out of lightspeed, Baji pulled the microphone to his mouth and said, "We've arrived. Get off without breakin' anythin'. Don' take anythin' that ain't yers. Have a nice day."

Hermana got up, but Baji put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Not yer stop, Herm," he said in a forced voice quite unlike his usual light tone.

"Yes, it is. This is Maz's place," Hermana said, oblivious to the heap of rubble just peeking out from behind the watering hole. They always landed in the back, so if something had changed out front, you couldn't see it until you walked around.

"No, it ain't," Baji said in the same tone as before.

Hermana tried to push Baji's arm away to no avail. "Baji, stop!" she protested.

Baji looked sad for a brief moment before answering. "I was forced to do this, you know. I'm sorry."

He hit her on the head and everything was black.


	2. Finn (I)

Finn woke and tried to sit up, hitting his head in the process. He felt for Luke's lightsaber, but it wasn't there. Where was Kylo Ren? Why were there so many voices? He blinked, and everything came into focus. He was in the Resistance base in the medical room. The thing he had hit his head on was the bunk above his, which was thankfully empty. He tried to sit up again, being more careful this time, but his back hurt too much. It felt like someone had cut a gash with a lightsaber from his neck to his waist. Wait, wasn't that what had happened? Finn shook his head to clear it. He'd figure this out later. Looking around, the first thing he saw was General Organa standing next to his bunk, apparently waiting for him to notice her.

"Where's Rey?" Finn said, wincing at the sound of his voice. It sounded a bit like a mixture of stone grating on stone and a dying womp rat. "Is she okay?"

General Organa nodded affirmation. "She went to go find Luke. R2-D2 had the rest of the map after all. It's been months, but she sent a transmission recently. She should be back soon."

A wave of relief crashed over Finn. "Good," he said. It was silent for a moment. Then, "How soon?"

"Let me check," the general told him. She turned to the command station and shouted something in a language Finn didn't recognize, which was saying a lot, considering he was an ex-Stormtrooper. A reply came in the same language.

"They're on their way. About ten minutes until they're back, Rey said," General Organa translated.

"Can you get her to come see me when she's back?"  
General Organa smiled. "It's already been arranged. You should get some sleep."  
Finn didn't bother agreeing; he was too tired. He fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. At first, everything was dark, then Rey appeared against a backdrop of the Resistance base ceiling. She kissed him on the forehead and said something he couldn't make out. Then she was back on Jakku, sitting in the market and talking to a girl who could have been Rey's twin, had she been older. The girl suddenly looked at Finn and said, "Rey and I were friends." Then she went back to chatting with Rey.

Finn was now standing behind Rey on a green island, looking at an old, rugged man who could only be Luke Skywalker. Luke and Rey were staring at each other, and Rey was holding out Luke's lightsaber. Luke looked astounded for a moment, then took the saber. "Hello, Rey," he said. "I expect my sister has missed me? And you," he said, looking at Finn. "Your friend could use some help."

Then Finn was General Hux, standing in a makeshift control room, trying to talk to Kylo Ren, who was still unmasked and seemed rather distracted. He was telling Ren about the danger the Resistance posed now that they had destroyed Starkiller Base when a commander entered. "Sir, we've captured a Corellian YT-model freighter. We believe it is the _Millennium Falcon_. Should we search it?"

Finn nodded assent, completely against his will. "It's likely there will be Jedi aboard." At this, Kylo Ren perked up. "Do what you must, but the Supreme Leader would-"

"Let me deal with them," Ren interrupted. "Lightsaber to lightsaber."  
Finn – or Hux – sniffed in disdain. "The Supreme Leader wants them _alive,_ Ren. If either of them dies, in your possession or not, you will be held responsible," he said.

Kylo Ren grabbed a new mask, a duplicate of his old one, and put it on. "Don't worry. They'll be alive."

A nurse was leaving the room when Finn woke. He shot straight up, ignoring the pain and almost hitting his head again, and said, "Rey's in trouble."

The nurse turned around. "Your friend's fine. She's just running a little late." Her grim expression announced that Rey was very late.

"No, the First Order's got her. And Luke. Kylo Ren is going to hurt them," he insisted.

"I'll let General Organa know," she said, obviously having no intention of doing so, and left the room.

Finn collapsed back onto his pillow, overwhelmed by the pain and his own feeling of uselessness. The nurse was talking to someone, but he wasn't really paying attention until he heard General Organa's voice right outside his door.

"I don't care if it's nothing, I want to know what he said," she said in a firm tone.

The nurse replied, "It was about his friend. He had a dream and thinks she's in danger."

There was quiet for a minute, then General Organa dismissed the nurse and entered the room.

"What did you see?"


	3. Rey (I)

Rey had sensed something was wrong right after she had sent the transmission to D'Qar. By the time Luke was in the cockpit, she had turned around and was almost out of the system. "I'm sure it's nothing," Luke had said.

Funny. Rey would have thought being alone in a Jedi temple surrounded by the Force for fifteen years would have made you stronger with it.

A hum that had been there so long Rey had forgotten about it went silent. All the lights shut off. Rey wasn't a very experienced Jedi yet, but she could sense the dread coursing through Luke and felt it reflected in herself. She pressed a few buttons, the windshield wipers and such, confirming what she already knew: the controls had been overridden. Someone had locked onto them. And Rey had a pretty good idea of who it was. "The First Order," she said as two TIE fighters with tow cables dragged them to a dark green planet.

"My nephew's on that planet," Luke announced. "He's gotten stronger."

Rey blinked. "Your nephew? Who – oh, Ren? I would expect he'd be weaker since I last saw him."

"What happened last time you saw him?" Luke asked, looking curious and slightly amused.

"Quite a large fight," she replied. They had entered the atmosphere and a marshy area was visible. "I won," she added. "I got that lightsaber for you."

"He had it?"

"No. Said it was his, though. Ignored the fact that you were still alive and it was your father's and all that."

Luke stiffened a bit. "Thank you for stopping him, then. He's still much stronger than last time _I_ saw him, though. He must have completed his training with Snoke."

Rey was about to ask about Snoke, seeing as everyone seemed to know who he was but her, when they hit the ground in front of a large building.

"So, what do we do now?" Rey asked. "Sit around and wait for them to find us?"

Luke smiled. "I like the way you think. I'd swear you were Han Solo's daughter if he and Leia were still together. How is he, anyway? I've missed him."

"We all have. Kylo Ren killed him," said Rey, her voice quiet. She might not have heard herself if the ship was on. Speaking of which, she had work to do. "I'm going to go see if I can't get this piece of garbage off the ground."

As Rey fussed with some wires above the copilot's seat, Luke shook his head. "I should have expected it. Snoke's twisted that boy's brain around until he can't tell right from wrong. He-" Luke stopped abruptly and turned towards the doorway. Rey sensed a presence, but she couldn't tell who it was.

"Well," Luke said. "It looks like I'll get to see just how strong my nephew is."

Right on cue, Kylo Ren stormed into the cabin. In the dim emergency lights, his scar stood out like the unfortunately located tear in Rey's old tunic, which we will not speak of any further.

"I see you've returned, Uncle," he said, eerily calm.

"Indeed I have. How's your father?" Luke retorted. Rey laughed to herself about how friendly he seemed, knowing inside he was boiling.

Ren seemed a bit taken aback by the response, but he recovered quickly. "Would you like to meet him?" He grabbed for his lightsaber, but Luke, quick as lightning, lunged, extending his saber in the process. He missed entirely. Kylo Ren laughed.

"You've grown weak, Uncle! I've missed practicing with you. It was nice to have a trainer who could hold his own. But do you know what happens to a trainee who's not good enough?"

"He's not a child," Rey muttered, catching Ren's attention.

"Then who is?" he asked, advancing. "You?"

"You," Rey growled. She imagined all the boxes full of spare parts and heavy manuals and tried to send them flying towards her enemy.

Nothing moved. She was doomed.

"You're not any stronger either, are you? You should have been training."

Rey thought back to the battle at Starkiller Base. _I can teach you the ways of the Force!_ Just like she had then, she drew strength from the reminder. Something in her brain shifted. She expected dozens of metal doodads to come help her with Ren, but all that rose was a measly little ball.

 _Really?_ she thought. _I'm battling my worst enemy, and all I get is a flying toy?_ Well, better than nothing. She willed it to come towards her, but it seemed to have a mind of its own. It stayed where it was for a full five seconds, then barreled into Kylo Ren at full speed. Without warning, it shot out mini blaster bolts that kept zapping him.

"One of – _ow!_ – these? You don't have – _ow!_ – a better defense than that? This is just – _ow!_ – for training!" he taunted, though it didn't have much effect when dotted with _ow_ s. Behind him, Luke grinned.

"If there's one thing you could use, nephew, it's training."

Almost in slow motion, Rey watched him jump at his nephew. This time, the lightsaber almost found its mark. It whirled toward Kylo Ren's torso, and reflexively, he raised his hand to deflect it. He let loose a guttural roar, and Rey watched in horror as a gloved hand, cut at the wrist, rolled to a stop on the floor.


	4. Hermana (II)

She really should have expected an interrogation room.

Hermana woke a metal chair with metal cuffs around her wrists and ankles. She had heard about interrogation before. It typically involved torture. To Hermana's left, she spotted a tray of ashes. Next to that, a Stormtrooper with a blaster. That couldn't be good.

When she turned her head, she started, hitting her head on the headrest, which hurt because the headrest was also metal. About five feet away, a familiar-looking man with a black First Order uniform and red hair stared disapprovingly at her.

 _General Hux,_ she thought. There were a lot of things she could have said next. Heroic things, like, "You'll never get away with this!" Instead, she thought of the copper-colored knot on top of her head, and said the only thing she could think of:

"Nice hair."

The general looked baffled for a moment, then resumed his icy stare. "Do you know why we've brought you here?" Even from a few feet, Hermana could smell his rancid breath. Maybe she didn't clean her teeth _every_ day, but she did it more than Hux.

"Nope! No idea," she said. She tried for a smile, but with the throbbing in her head, it may have looked more like a grimace.

"I don't suppose you know what's happened where you were going? And how your mother caused it?" he growled.

Hermana didn't see any point in resisting. After all, that Stormtrooper was there for a reason. "First – no, I just wanted to see my friend. Second – my mother's dead as of four years ago. She can't have caused anything. Third – isn't Kylo Ren supposed to do the First Order's interrogating?"

"Kylo Ren is . . . occupied at the moment," he said carefully, as though he was trying not to get mad. Hermana got the feeling that he wanted to be the one asking questions. "And if you're who your blood test says you are, you're the daughter of Dodona Apollo, who died two weeks ago."

"I've never known a Dodona. What kind of name is that? Sounds like someone from Naboo or Alderaan – well, I guess no one can be from Alderaan 'cause the Empire blew it up. Except . . ." she trailed off when she saw Hux's face. Either she would have a blaster bolt in her face soon, or the general was going to explode. "Sorry," she said quietly, though it would be quite nice to watch Hux explode.

She was right the first time. General Hux made a small gesture with one hand, and suddenly the Stormtrooper had his blaster pressed against Hermana's forehead.

Hux took on a gentle, almost singsong tone. "Now, Miss Apollo –"

"My last name's Bokis," Hermana corrected. Hux actually growled, like an angry Gammorean. Hermana would have laughed if her life hadn't been in danger.

"– what _exactly_ were you going to be doing on Takodana?" he continued.

"Like I said, I was going to meet with a friend."

"Where would you have been meeting this friend?"

"On Takodana." Hermana feared to be too much of a smart-aleck would get her a free ticket to see her mother, but she figured if the First Order had taken an interest in her, she must be pretty important in the whole Resistance thing. She didn't want to give any more information than she had to because if it came down to it, she'd rather be on the Resistance's side than the First Order's.

"That Stormtrooper can pull the trigger as easily as you can breathe. I'd suggest complying," Hux said.

"I am. I'm telling the truth," Hermana replied.

"Who were you going to meet?" asked Hux. The Stormtrooper pushed the blaster barrel into Hermana's head so hard she knew there was going to be a bruise there.

"Maz Kanata," she spat. General Hux recoiled like she'd punched him between the eyes. He stood for a second, then laughed out loud.

"You don't know, do you, Miss Apollo?"

"Bokis!" Hermana snapped.

"We _killed_ Maz Kanata. We destroyed her cantina," he said.

Suddenly, she found that her world had been turned on its head. "No," she whimpered. Maz was the one who had kept her going since Mama died. Maz had always been there for her. She couldn't be gone. "No. _NO!_ " Hermana screamed with such force that it seemed like the entire room trembled. It felt like her entire body was burning up. " _GET OUT!_ "

Immediately, Hux and the Stormtrooper scrambled from the room. Hermana was so angry, everything looked red. She remembered something Maz had said: _"Anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering. A proverb from an old friend."_ Hermana tried to control it. Honestly, she did. But she had broken the dam, and it wasn't so easy to build a new one. All the rage, all the resentment she'd ever felt towards everyone who'd abandoned her came pouring out. The walls shook – literally. Loudspeakers blared emergency warnings and commands, but Hermana ignored them. Too many people had left her. She wouldn't let it happen again.

She was able to form two clear thoughts: something Maz had told her many times: _"Your family has a long history with the Force, Hermana. Some of your ancestors chose the light path. Others chose the dark path. The latter endured pain and suffering, only to be destroyed in the end. Don't be like them. Follow the light. It's always been there."_

And her second thought: _I've failed you, Maz._ She fell unconscious again, hopefully, this time, for forever.


	5. Finn (II)

Finn had been right. General Organa, being Force-sensitive, had confirmed what he had explained. She could sense the battle raging aboard the _Millennium Falcon._ Immediately, the general began organizing a rescue mission and developing a plan . . . which involved leaving Finn behind.

Finn had felt useless too many times in his life. Back in the First Order, he had been "Soapy," even to his squadron. Even to the other sanitation troopers. The nickname had come from an infamous incident involving a bucket of soap that had happened to fall on Phasma's head. Ever since, the joke had been, "Oh, don't give it to Soapy. Phasma doesn't need her helmet cleaned today." So, although Finn had been a sanitation trooper, he wasn't really. He just swept up after everybody else.

There were plenty of other incidences. Finn just couldn't remember them right now.

After a few hours of watching the hustle and bustle, a nurse came by and gave Finn a quick checkup. She declared that, amazingly enough, Finn was ready to start walking again. Almost immediately, Finn was up and doing what he could to help. Most people told him to go back to his bed. He directed them back to the nurse. Within ten minutes, Finn was given the title of Retriever. If someone needed something or someone, they called Finn over. Because of this, Finn got a pretty good briefing of the mission.

Apparently, the First Order's new base was housed on an Outer Rim planet called Geonosis, which had been a pivotal planet in the Clone Wars. It was extremely desolate, its former bug-like inhabitants having vacated the desert planet in favor of Tatooine when the Empire rose. It wasn't too far from D'Qar, which made it an interesting choice. They obviously had to have some hidden weapon, being in the direct sight line of the Resistance Base. Some people thought they should move the base, but the motion was outvoted in the end.

Poe was chosen to lead the mission with four others. Finn approached him after a meeting, and with a little begging, Finn was on the ship. Secretly, of course. He wasn't really sure why he wanted to go. He wouldn't really be able to do anything without revealing himself, and then he'd be in trouble. Maybe he just wanted to be one of the first people Rey saw when she got back. Though he'd deny it if anyone asked, he really, really liked her. Well, maybe if Rey herself asked, he wouldn't deny it. He wasn't really sure.

The way there was uneventful. The rescue pilots flew in in a commandeered First Order supply ship, preparing to commit a sort of hit-and-run operation - if anyone saw what they were doing, kill them before they could sound an alarm, and move on. Finn was stashed under the floor in crew quarters. It reminded him of the _Millennium Falcon_ , which was now in the First Order's new base. Finn sighed and hoped that they could get in quickly. It was cramped under there, and thinking of the _Falcon_ reminded him of Han Solo.

Before long (thankfully), he heard voices and blaster fire. Had they already gotten Rey out of there? It had only been, what? Twenty minutes?

"Hey, Finn." Poe lifted the floor panel off of Finn's hiding place. "We're on the move now. There's someone you might want to talk to."

Finn jumped out of his hole as Poe backed away. "What do you mean? Is Rey here?"

Poe winced. "Well . . . not exactly, buddy. We have a couple people who might know where-"

"Take me to them."

 **sorry for short chapter! this seemed like a good place to end :P**


End file.
